Tomato Orzo, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Rosemary Oil

Serves 2

Ready in 20 -25 minutes

This Italian inspired recipe is the product of really craving tomatoes the other evening and I’m super pleased with it! It’s simply bursting with summer flavour and showcases simple ingredients, like scrumptious seasonal tomatoes and fresh herbs, at their very best. Creamy, comforting tomato orzo infused with garlic, Italian herbs and silky creme fraiche is topped with plump oven roasted cherry tomatoes and fragrant rosemary oil. I do hop you enjoy this over summer too!

Tip – This dish works best with the lovely ripe tomatoes found in the UK in the summer months, which enhance the flavour of the dish. If you’d like to make this in autumn/winter, it’s best to use tinned tomatoes for the orzo.

Ingredients

250g orzo pasta

500-600ml good quality organic vegetable stock

2 garlic cloves

60g creme fraiche

15g parmesan (plus extra to serve)

1 tsp italian seasoning (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme etc.)

2 tsp tomato paste

200g ripe baby plum/cherry tomatoes

100g mixed colour cherry tomatoes (for oven roasting)

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

For the rosemary oil:

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (approx 5g)

4-5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Begin by making the rosemary oil. Remove the rosemary from its stalks and then chop as finely as you can. Put the chopped rosemary into a pestle and mortar to grind down even more finely, slowly drizzling in the olive oil as you go until you have a beautiful scented oil. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a deep non-stick pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped garlic cloves and fry for 1-2 minutes until golden.
3. Add the ripe baby plum tomatoes to the pan and fry for around another 5 minutes until the tomatoes have softened.
4. At this stage add the tomato paste, Italian herbs and orzo pasta, giving it a good stir to combine all of the ingredients. Then add the vegetable stock gradually, at first bringing to the boil and then lowering the heat so its simmering. Keep adding vegetable stock each time it is all absorbed until the orzo is al dente (this should take 10-15 minutes) and every so often press down on the tomatoes to help release their flavour into the sauce.
5. Whilst the orzo is simmering, place the cherry tomatoes onto a baking tray with a teaspoon or two of olive oil and seasoning and cook in the oven for 10 minutes until blistered and going golden.
6. Once the orzo is almost cooked, add the creme fraiche and parmesan. Give it a good stir and cook for another minute and season to taste. Serve up the orzo topped with the lovely roasted tomatoes, a generous drizzle of rosemary oil and some extra parmesan shavings.